In a speech last week at the annual convention of the National Bar Association, former President Biden accused President Trump of violating the rule of law.
“Judges matter. Courts matter. The law matters and the Constitution matters,” said Biden. “I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under the pressure we’re under now with this guy we have as president. Oh, get ready, folks, this is just starting.”
Considering all that has come out recently on the Obama administration related to the 2016 investigations into the current president’s ties to Moscow, Biden’s statement is rich in irony, whether he realizes it or not. Indeed, when considering our two main political parties, it’s as though people of different parts of the world are speaking past each other – perhaps, because, in one way, they actually are.
A revolution began in this country way back in 2008 when then-candidate Obama promised to “fundamentally change” the American system. This was observed by Victor Davis Hanson, who in 2023 said, “We are in a Jacobin Revolution of the sort that in 1793-94 nearly destroyed France,” as well as James Lindsay, who claims that the Biden years were akin to the Maoist Revolution in China.
This revolution is made all the more possible in that the media is compliant – both then and now – completely willing to report as though the viewpoint of the newcomers, i.e., the party of change, that is, the revolutionaries, is the standard for judgment, rather than the other way round, a fact that is illogical under the Aristotelian theory of definition.
These revolutionary sentiments – which historically have a way of overriding everything, not excluding material fact – explain why, other than from conservatives and traditionalists, there was no widespread outcry over the election-year virus that seemed to come from nowhere in 2020. Nor was there outcry over the lies and politicizations that came from a formerly apolitical Justice Department (DOJ). It also explains how – now that we are learning of the Obama administration’s early decisions to use the Steele Dossier along with its own DOJ to damage Trump in 2016 – there seems nary a peep from the news establishment in this country. In short, matters that go against perceived revolutionary fact just don’t have the import as otherwise would be the case, especially when these matters might threaten the revolution itself.
As Hanson suggests, these issues have their clearest parallel in the French Revolution. In 18th-century France, those fevered minds, hungry for their own self-propelled desire for change, were wont, much like our own Jacobins, to gag on material reality in order to swill their own revolutionary poison. The moderate Girondins, seeking a more reasonable departure from royalism, inveighed against this, but the Montagnards – primarily consisting of Jacobins – wanted, not only blood, but unbridled power.
All was not lost. On July 26, 1794 (or 8 Thermidor Year II of the Revolutionary Calendar), Robespierre, whose radicalism had alienated him even from former supporters, was ousted from the National Convention, imprisoned, and executed two days later. These events marked the end of the Reign of Terror, initiated the dissolution of the National Convention, and paved the way for the creation of the French Directory.
What followed is what historians have called the Thermidorian Reaction. A reference to the date on which it occurred, the move toward centrism marked a period that would usher in the Napoleonic era, reinstate the Church, and be characterized as generally more moderate and civilized than its immediate predecessor, the Reign of Terror.
This summary amounts to a right reading of the times in which we live. As stated above, 2008 began a radical departure from traditional government and mores in this country, a move punctuated by the policies and goals of the Biden years. However, in 2024, voters saw in Trump a much more stabilizing force than he had earlier appeared, particularly when contrasted with the Biden era.
His governance now seems to be living up to these hopes. By opening investigations into “Crossfire Hurricane” – and hopefully bringing accountability to those responsible for this stain on our justice system – he is instituting his own Thermidorian Reaction. If history is any guide, this bodes well for the future of our country.
Along with his father, Allen Keller runs a lumber business in Stevenson, Alabama. He has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University and an MBA from University of Virginia. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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